Again, not quite dead...

So, Spring, garden growing like mad, a significant death in the family, that although expected and emotionally dealt with, leaves a bewildering series of meetings with lawyers, wills and 'settling the estate'.

Takes a bit of time.

As for RPG stuff, currently enjoying Mesmerized by Sirens and the spotlight on the games that didn't make the big time. Also trying to make sense of all the material I have, and make use of thousands of pages of both printed and pdf inspiration of others. The main body of work there is pulling all the useful things out of the Fight On! series for inclusion in some campaign world, somewhere.

Anyway, back in October when I was learning about organising funerals, Random Wizard posted some technical questions. Here's my attempt;

(1). Should energy drain take away one level of experience points from the character? Yes or No? If no, what should level drain do?

No, levels are hard won in Dragon Warriors, and not easily lost.  I find a temporary stat drain works better.

2). Should the oil used in lanterns do significant damage (more than 1 hp in damage) if thrown on an opponent and set on fire? Yes or No? If yes, how much damage should it do?

I think 2d6 the first round, if directly hit, a check if it catches, and then 1d6 until put out. But then again, picture goblins using this on PCs and the issues created.

(3). Should poison give a save or die roll, with a fail rolled indicating instant death? Yes or No? If no, how should game mechanics relating to poison work?

No - sweating, paralysation, hallucinations, strength and dexterity loss, then death, if a second roll is failed. More realistic, from someone who's been poisoned on occasion.

(4). Do characters die when they reach 0 hit points? Yes or No? If no, then at what point is a character dead?

No, again. -3 in DW, and there's a series of events in the game rules to determine when death occurs.

(5). Does the primary spell mechanic for a magic user consist of a "memorize and forget system" (aka Vancian)? Yes or No? If no, what alternative do you use?

And, no. I don't like Vancian magic in RPGs. I've read The Dying Earth series, and the game mechanics don;t do it justice. I've always played games with 'spell points' and any spell known can be cast with these. It's learning the spells that's the hard part.

(6). Should all weapons do 1d6 damage or should different weapons have varying dice (1d4, 1d8, etc...) for damage?

Throw in an Armour Bypass Roll and you're still wrong. a mace is (d6,4) and a sword (d8,3). See the beauty?

(7). Should a character that has a high ability score in their prime requisite receive an experience point bonus? Yes or No?

No - it's what you do that gives you experience, not who you are.

(8). Should a character with an constitution of 18 get a +3 bonus to hit points, or a +2 bonus to hit points, or a +1 bonus to hit points or no bonus to hit points? And should other ability scores grant similar bonuses to other game mechanics?

DW has stats 13-15 as +1, and 16-18 as +2, so if there was a stat like constitution, you'd get +2 for that.

(9). Should a character have 1 unified saving throw number, or 3 saving throw types based on ability scores (reflex, fortitude, will), or 5 types based on potential game effects (magic wand, poison attacks)? or something else?

Try a defence score (combat), an evasion score (dodging things) and a magical  defence number (magical effects), with a different mechanic for each. Not the best aspect of the system, but easy to get used to.

(10). Should a cleric get (A) 1 spell at 1st level  (B) no spells at 1st level (C) more than 1 spell at 1st level?

Try four spells at first level, otherwise the character is waiting to gain a level before actually making a worthwhile contribution to the game.

I don't think that was too useful, but at least it typifies the game system I use.

Something else sometime later, I hope.